HISTORY OF MEDIEVAL WESTERN EUROPE

Specific Foundation / Core

The course is also offered to exchange programme students.

Students are expected to • possess specialized knowledge on the formation and evolution of medieval political entities • possess specialized knowledge on social and economic organization of medieval communities • possess specialized knowledge on medieval mental horizons and the religious culture • be able to analyse and assess comparatively the different forms that medieval institutions took in different cultural contexts • be able to correlate the birth of early capitalism and of the absolute monarchy, as well as the construction of modern historical consciousness with the cultural context of Late Middle Ages • be able to answer specialized questions within the specific topic, which involve both critical thinking and empirical knowledge

The course examines the formation and the development of Western Medieval Europe (5th-15th c.). After studying transition processes from Late Antiquity to the early Middle Ages, focusing on the political thought and practice, social and economic organization, the course deals with the evolution of medieval communities until the late Middle Ages, and examines the transition to the Early Modern Era. Special mention is made of medieval mental horizons. Analytical tools and historiographical debates concerning individual thematic areas are also discussed. Syllabus Week #1 Introduction. Temporal and geographical limits. Medieval perceptions of time and place. Sources for the study of medieval history. Week #2 Western Europe in early medieval ages (5th-10th c.): Romans and “Barbarians”. The invasion of the German tribes in the western part of the Empire and the formation of medieval kingdoms. The role of the Church. . Week #3 Western Europe in early medieval ages (5th-10th c.): Political, ethnic and cultural identities in Middle Ages. Week #4 Western Europe in early medieval ages (5th-10th c.): society and economy Week #5 Western Europe in early medieval ages (5th-10th c.): society and economy Week #6 Western Europe in early medieval ages (5th-10th c.): The Frankish Kingdom and the Byzantine Empire. The new “invasions” (Normans, Arabs, Magyars): perception of the Other and assimilation processes Week #7 Western Europe in high middle ages (11th-13th c.): feudal relations and social transformations. The investiture controversy and the Roman Church. Week #8 Western Europe in high middle ages (11th-13th c.): society and economy (agricultural economy and the medieval village. The trade expansion, the emergence of medieval town and the medieval civic culture) Week #9 & 10 Western Europe in high middle ages (11th-13th c.): society and economy (agricultural economy and the medieval village. the trade expansion, the emergence of medieval town and the medieval civic culture) Week #11 Western Europe in late middle ages (14th-15th c.): Political developments in the medieval kingdoms. The “Black Death” (1348) and its social and economic consequences Week #12 Western Europe in late middle ages (14th-15th c.): The origins of the absolute monarchy and the representative institutions. Changes in the religious expression. Week #13 Western Europe in late middle ages (14th-15th c.): the Italian renaissance and the formation of new intellectual horizons. The shaping of the term “medieval”. The new historical thought.

medieval kingdoms, feudal bonds/seigneury, Roman Church, civic communities, Renaissance, historical consciousness

22-09-2021